What Price Constitutes a Luxury Home in Austin?

I was reading the news short posted below, regarding falling Luxury Home prices in California, and noting that the “average” prices of “Luxury Homes” in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego range between $2M and $3M (see article below)

What is considered a Luxury Home in Austin? $750,000 and above if you talk to agents such as our fellow Keller Williams agent Dee Shultz who specializes in Luxury Homes in Austin.

$750K would get you a “move-up” tract home in many parts of California and would not be considered a Luxury Home. But in Austin, $750K will put you in a fairly impressive home. Builders I’ve talked to recently confirm the $750K mark. That’s about the price-point where you start seeing tiled roofs and the type of expensive custom finish-outs and details that separate a custom luxury home from a mearly well built custom home in the $600,000’s to $700,000 range.

What’s the average sales price of an Austin Luxury Home? In Austin in 2006, 661 Homes sold for a price greater than $750K for an average sales price of $1,257,241. The highest price sale in Austin in 2006 was a home that sold for $4,525,000. At present, there are about 700 homes listed for sale in Austin at $750K or higher, which is about 10% of the total current homes listed.

From Realtor Magazine Online:

California Luxury Home Prices See First Slip Since ’04
During last year’s fourth quarter, luxury home prices in California declined for the first time since 2004 and sellers received fewer multiple offers, according to a report by First Republic Bank in San Francisco.

The bank tracks the price of numerous upscale homes across the state. “The housing market is softening from its runaway pace and heading toward a balanced market,” says First Republic Chief Credit Officer David Lichtman. The latest index shows:

Los Angeles values slipped 0.8 percent from the third quarter of 2006 to the fourth quarter and were up 2.9 percent from a year ago. The average luxury home in Los Angeles is now $2.35 million.

San Diego values declined 1.3 percent from the third quarter of 2006 to the fourth quarter and gained 3.3 percent from a year ago. The average luxury home in San Diego is now $2.15 million.

San Francisco Bay Area values fell 1.5 percent from the third quarter of 2006 to the fourth quarter and gained 1.5 percent from a year ago. The average luxury home in San Francisco is now $2.92 million.

“Buyers stayed away and sellers pulled their homes and said they’d put them out in the spring,” says Maxine Golden, a broker with Re/Max Real Estate Services in Newport Beach.

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I’m in the Naples Real Estate market and I’ve wondered the same thing myself. We have two publications here that list only “luxury” properties. Both require a price of $1M or higher to be included in the magazine. Do you have similar publications? What are their requirements?